Floor construction of road vehicles



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A. WALSH FLOOR CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD VEHICLES 2 Sheet t 1 Filed Oct 2, 7

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 061,. 2, 1947 Patented Jan. 24, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLOOR CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD VEHICLES Arthur Walsh, Prescot, England Application October 2, 1947, Serial No. 777,454 In Great Britain November 15, 1946 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a construction of the flooring of road vehicles whereby greater accessibility is afforded for enabling the mechanism below the floor to be cleaned or otherwise attended to. The invention is particularly applicable to motor wagons, trailers or like road vehicles. In the present fioor construction of such vehicles, bearing timbers are disposed extending fore and aft of the vehicle upon which are secured Wooden cross pieces to which again the boards of the platform or floor of the vehicle are secured, such boards running longitudinally of the vehicle. Where difiioulty is experienced in obtaining boards of the requisite length to ex tend the full length of such a vehicle, the present invention affords a construction whereby shorter timber lengths corresponding to the width of the vehicle may be used for the flooring.

According to this invention the flooring plat- Fig. l is a plan of a road vehicle platform in accordance with this invention with four detachable fioor sections, showing one section removed.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the lin 22, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail side view partly in section showing the connection of a transverse T-iron to the surround angle iron of the flooring support frame of the vehicle, and

Fig. 5 is an end view partly in section of the detail shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail showing one end of a floor section resting on the side angle iron, of the support frame with a rope hook clip securing the end of the section.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal fragmentary section on a large scale showing the means for securing the floor sections in position in the support frame, and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view of the ratchet mechanism for locking the floor sections in place.

In the form of the invention illustrated the detachable platform of the vehicl comprises a support frame and independently removable floor sections, the support frame being constructed from a series of webbed chairs I resting upon the usual longitudinal chassis girders 2 of the road vehicle and detachably secured by means of U shaped straps 3 passing beneath the girders and connected to the lower plates of the chairs by nuts 4 engaging th threaded upper ends of the straps. The chairs are preferably of cruciform section in plan and the looped straps obliquely disposed so that the securing nuts 4 will be located in opposite diagonal corners of the base of each chair. Resting upon the chairs I are several inverted T-section bars 5 extending transversely the full width of the vehicle and subdividing the support frame into several spaces, the lower flanges 6 of the bars being secured to the chairs beneath. These flanges 6 provide side ledges to the spaces for supporting a series of separately removable floor sections 1 fitting the spaces. The sections are constructed of battens 8 on to which floor boards ,9 are secured as by nailing. The scetions are preferably so made that the floor boards 9, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, run transversely of the vehicle, and are thus much shorter in length than the boards that would be required if fitted longitudinally of the vehicle, as usual. The support frame has a surround consisting of side angle 'irons l0 and front and rear angle irons I l, the

side angle irons l0 having their horizontal flanges l2 entered in slots [3 in the vertical webs of the T-bars 5, as shown in Figs, 4 and 5, the flanges l2 resting upon the corresponding flanges of short support angle irons l 4 also inserted into the slots of the T-bars, the supports It! being welded to the bars. The rear end angle iron ll rests upon a transverse channel-section bar l5, and 'the front angle iron H on webbed chairs l6, on the girders 2, the channel l5 and chairs [6 being secured to the chassis girders 2 by straps ll.

Each of the spaces into which the support frame is subdivided is surrounded by a ledge support, the flanges B of the T-bars 5 forming such supports for the battens 8 of the floor sections, while the flanges If: of the side angle irons l0 form supports for the floor boards 9 of the sections. In orer that each such section may be independently removed, when required, releasable securing means is provided. For this purpose, the battens 8 are each provided at one end with a metal fitting l8 formed with a notch IQ for hooked engagement with the flange 6 of the T- bar 5, Figs. 1 and '7, and at the other end with a metal fitting 20 having a wide hook shaped projection 2!. Rotatably mounted in brackets 22 secured beneath the T-bars 5 are light shafts 23 on which, in the region of the battens 8 are fitted catches 24, having cars which are adapted, when the shafts 23 are turned, to move clear of the hook projections 2 I, as shown at the left of Fig. 7, and then permit a floor section to be lowered into the position indicated by dotted lines in that figure, or to be raised up. In order to position a fioor section, its notched fittings 18 are first engaged with the flange edge of a T-bar 5, and the opposite-side .then lowered .into position resting on .the ledge A6 :.of the opposite 'T=b ar, :Fig. 7, the shaft 23 having been turned to move the catch 2A5 clear of the hook 2| and permit of this lowering, the shaft being then turned back-'to-engage the catch with the hook 2| and-securethe section in position.

Rotation of the shafts zt toithe-re'l'easing and locking positions is controlled by the mechanism shown in Fig. 8, the ends of the shafts-.23;journalled in end brackets 25 being provided with handles 21 each havinga pawl 28 slidable thereon adapted to engage, or be released from, ratchet teeth?!) cutlineircular edges of the end'brackets "25. The pawls 28 .are preferably spring-controlled-so that theytend to engage the ratchet '.,'.teeth.'ZQ, as indicated at'the-right o'fZFigJiijthe handles .21 being moved up to disengage the catchesj24 ormoveddownin thedirection of the .arrows, to engage them with the hooks 2!, the ;.pawl..and ratchet teethform'ingalock effectively .securingthe floor sectionsinposition,but in such manner .thatany .section-orsections maybe re- .leasedandremoved. "When a'section is lowered ..into ,position with its battens "8 resting on the ,fianges .of the ..T.-lbars T5,. .the .fioor fhoards 19 will .rest-on the higher .flanges 1.2 of the angle irons 1.0, .and in order .to .secure ...the .fioor sections .at

.these ends, rope .hooks 530, Big. '6, are ,provided .slidable in .guides =31 -.secure'dheneath the floor boards 9 .at both ends .of each .section. Such .hooks are pushed back -in the guides ,3 I when the .fioor section .is .to be .lowered ;into ,position, and care afterwards pulled out to the ,position shown in Fig. 6 to engage beneath Lthelfiange .12 -of the-side angle iron Hi. .hooks :may be spring-controlled and .tend .always to move out .to the locking ,position shown, .the resilient control enabling .the section .to be low- -.ered :into position, the curved -.end of the hook .snappingpast the flange 2| 2 sof the angle .iron .40. Subsequently when the. -hook is .engagedbythe :rope securing the load on .the vehicle, the .hook

If .desired, such v.rope

issecurelyhelddnitsoutward locking-position.

The vertical loading board 32.at theend of .the

.fioor structure'has its-transverse'timbers secured tovertical :channel irons33, the protruding feet -of whichareaadapted to bedetachably engaged -:into socket-pieces'securedto the support frame.

As the protruding ends-of the channel-irons pass :down the sockets the lower edge .of the loading board -32 .ultimately rests-on. a-short inturnedledge '35 formedon'thefront angle-iron l I :of .the sup- ;port frame.

With a :construction of vehicle platformaas described, the-whole superstructure .may heremoved from the chassis by disconnecting the straps 3, while the flooring is such that any one or all of the sections may be removed to give ready accessibility for cleaning or attending to any part of the mechanism beneath, which with the present permanent fixing of the flooring structure is difficult to clean properly, and as considerable dirt and foreign matter accumulate on the mechanism in the course of the rough m usage ';to Whichisuch road vehicles are exposed,

there is *often such an accumulation-of foreign .matter thereon as to seriously affect the efficient working. I110 -attempt to clean the mechanism b'eneaththe floor structure while the fioor is in ::situs necessitates the cleaner getting beneath the vehicle while.the foreign matter is being dis- ;lo'dge'd. Butiwit'h "an arrangement as described,

one'or more of the flooring sections may be re- .move'dr and the cleaner bring his hose pipe to bear 20 on the mechanism from above.

-:Instead-.of [the-support :frame .being. :made of metal it.may be;maderof ,wood, the T-bars-Of .the

.-metal.constructionbeing replaced by'transversely disposed wood beams detachably secured by ;.U

- "shaped strapstothe: chassis girders, andthe fioor boards .of each ,fioor 2 section may run :longitudinally .of-the -vehicle, thus enabling still 'shorter lengths lof:board:to,be utilized.

What I .claim is:

:1. {A .floor rplatform superstructure .for a road svehlcle'comprising an L-.section :surround, 'a plu- -rality .of.inverted ?r-.section bars secured transyersely to saidsurround and dividing 'the area enclosed thereby :into a -plurality of spaces :ex- :tending'the lfull width-pf :saidareaga :fiooring sec- -.tion -for= each zspace adapted to fit linto saidspace :andto reston ,theiflangestof said Ll-and T-section members, a notched member-on oneside .of each .fioor vse'ction earranged .to engage tone :of said efiangesna hooked imember onQthe-opposite-side'of eachfloon-section,:andacatch rotatablelto'engage said lhookedzmember.

s- 2..'In 7'8. flooring platform superstructure as :claimed ;in .claim .1, pawl iand ratchet :locking zmeans rnorm-ally docking "the match v:against. rota- .tion.

,rA-RTHUR -WALSH.

m :REEERENCES wCITED The following references are of record in "the "file of this patent:

UNITED. .SEIATES PATENTS 5 Number Name Date 432,343 Tuthill -"July 15,1890 1,244,807 Weisbrod Oct. 30, 191-7 l',443,818 Gillespie "Jan. 30, 1923 11361433 "Young "July 12, 1932 "1,870,418 iMayer *Aug. 9, 1932 2,100,323 Fitch 'NOV. 30, 1937 2,307,449 Milz'et a1 Jan. 5, 1-943 .EOREIGN .EATENZIYS .Number :;Country Date 

